With Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) having no more games at the Queen’s Park Oval, local interest might be on the wane in the ongoing 2016 Hero CPL T20 cricket tournament.
Like most cricket enthusiasts in the Caribbean and Guyana in South America, local fans are nightly glued to their television sets as live telecast of the games is beamed via CNC3.
But while enthusiasm at venues in neighbouring countries seems to be on a high, it is obvious that T&T is the region’s trendsetter and leader in production and costumery.
At the four games played at the Oval to kickstart the competition, television cameramen must have been mesmerised by the diverse variety of side attractions and costumed supporters at the venue, and challenged to select subjects to capture.
In addition to the rhythm sections, and the contingent from Siparia fielding former Olympian Ian “Frinty” Morris, there were the beautifully-costumed brand reps of Digicel, Carib Beer and El Dorado Rum; traditional Carnival characters; Granny (Nikki Crosby); Digicel’s Mr D; steelbands; fire-eaters; acrobats; dancers; and live performances by soca stars like Destra, Kees Dieffenthaller, Ravi B and Multi Symptom.
The main men of the CPL organisers may be having some regret about the brand girls’ acts, though. There was a stark difference between the brand reps from the other islands, and our T&T girls—after one viewing, the T&T choreography becomes mundane and limited...move to the left, move to the right and do a little knee-bent “wuk up.”
The organisers could have had the trainer for the past few years travel to the different Caricom territories to train them, with one choreographer coach them all, and also have someone vet the costumes the girls wear—if only for coordination and visual cohesion.
The patron adjudged to be wearing the most-unique costume at each Hero CPL T20 cricket game wins US$500. While our neighbours might be trying to emulate the standards in costumery and masquerade set by T&T—and Barbados to a slightly lesser degree—a Bristol board mask and cardboard does not a costume make.
These simplistic portrayals are the easiest way to win US$500, especially when there is easily no competition. In terms of the music, the Kensington Oval in Barbados comes closest to what the Oval offers.
Home of the Tridents, Kensington has offered brass bands, one led by veteran comedian/calypsonian Mac Fingall, the Mosaic steelband and some beautifully costumed individuals, a couple of them reminiscent of the sartorially elegant King Dial.
Antigua is not on the roster for games this year, so viewers and fans there will be deprived of seeing the more recent clones of Gravy, the Caribbean’s most-celebrated costumed character at cricket.
In all fairness to our most northern neighbour, the first game in Jamaica will be played today (Friday 15) so one cannot yet adjudicate the production quality of events there, when Tallawahs play Guyana’s Amazon Warriors.
What’s certain is that reggae music—that has so far dominated music at venues outside of Trinidad—will be playing. It would be interesting to see what the people of St Lucia and Fort Lauderdale, USA will produce when games are played there later in the tournament.
Cricket at this level is new to the United States. The excitement and fun would be that much poorer at Fort Lauderdale as venue negotiations to have a Triniposse Stand there fell through.
(Photos courtesy Triniposse)